The Midwestern Native Garden. Charlotte Adelman
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Holland is famous for exporting Dutch or giant crocus (C. vernus) and snow crocus (C. Tommasinianius, C. chrysanthus) that originated in the Middle East. Height: 2–12 inches. Ornamental Attributes: Yellow, white, lavender, purple flowers bloom briefly in March, April. Cultivation: Sun/light shade. Welldrained soil. Ephemerals die when mowed before the leaves naturally die. Overcrowding causes decline. Nature Note: Squirrels, deer, chipmunks, mice, rabbits, skunks (in search of insects, worms, and organic fertilizers), voles, and birds dig up crocuses and some of these animals eat the corms/bulbs. Gardeners combat this with homemade and commercial repellents, protective barriers, plastic owls, and other ingenious deterrents.
Crocus (Crocus luteus)
Native Alternatives:
AMERICAN PASQUEFLOWER, WILD CROCUS, BLUE TULIP. Family: Buttercup (Ranunculaceae). Genus: Pulsatilla (P. patens) (formerly included in the genus Anemone). Height: 2–12 inches. Ornamental Attributes: Considered to be harbingers of spring. Large, delicate orange-centered blue-violet, sometimes white, flowers from March to May. Feathery seed heads. Hairy stems and leaves protect the plants from chilly early spring weather. “These are one of the first and most spectacular prairie flowers of spring.”25 Cultivation: Sun. Well-drained, dry to medium soil. (Best in sandy soil.) Nature Note: Bees eagerly seek the pollen produced by these early blooming flowers. The foliage does not interest mammalian herbivores.
PRAIRIE SMOKE, LONG-PLUMED PURPLE AVENS, OLD MAN’S WHISKERS. Family: Rose (Rosaceae). Genus: Geum (G. triflorum). Height: 4–16 inches. Ornamental Attributes: Showy, nodding pink to reddishpurple flowers in May, June. Feathery plumed fruits. Evergreen leaves turn red in fall. Cultivation: Sun, light shade. Dry to average garden soil. Note: Threatened in parts of the Midwest. Nature Note: The flowers look as though they are still in bud stage, so small bees crawl inside to get the nectar and pollen. As an early-flowering plant, it is an important food source for insects emerging from hibernation. See Lewis and Clark note in the appendix.
American pasqueflower (Pulsatilla patens)
BLOODROOT. Family: Poppy (Papaveraceae). Genus: Sanguinaria (S. canadensis). Height: 6–10 inches. Ornamental Attributes: Brilliantly white, daisy-shaped flowers bloom briefly late February to May. “One of the most beautiful of American wild flowers.”26 “Bloodroot is a good example of the continued blurring of the distinction between wild flowers and garden plants.”27 Lobed leaves create groundcover-like colonies. Broken stalks produce red juice. Though considered ephemeral, the foliage often persists to frost in moist soil. Cultivation: Light shade. Well-drained, dry or moderately moist soil. Nature Note: Ants collect, eat, and spread the seed’s elaiosomes or appendages. Butterflies seek nectar but search in vain; the flowers offer only pollen, sought by beneficial flies and beetles that in return pollinate the flowers. Mammalian herbivores rarely eat the foliage. Historical Note: In the 1600s, French explorer Samuel de Champlain observed that the root of our native bloodroot “makes a crimson dye.”28
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Prairie violet (Viola pedatifida)
Downy yellow violet (Viola pubescens)
TRIANGLE-LEAVED VIOLET. Family: Violet (Violaceae). Genus: Viola (V. emarginata). Height: 4–8 inches. Cultivation: Sun/light shade. Medium soil; COMMON BLUE VIOLET (V. sororia, V. papilonaceae). Ornamental Attributes: Both species display purple or blue flowers March to May.
More Violet Native Alternatives:
ALPINE VIOLET, LABRADOR VIOLET (V. labradorica). Height: 3–6 inches. Ornamental Attributes: Weeks of bright lavender flowers. Purplish-green foliage looks good all season; BIRDSFOOT VIOLET, PANSY VIOLET (V. pedata). Height: 6 inches. Ornamental Attributes: “The violet flowers are spectacular.”29 Bloom April to June, and all summer if regularly watered. Deeply lobed leaves. Cultivation: Sun. Dry well-drained soil; PRAIRIE VIOLET (V. pedatifida). Purple flowers April to June. Grass-like leaves. Medium soil; DOWNY YELLOW VIOLET (V. pubescens). Yellow flowers April to June; MISSOURI VIOLET (V. missouriensis). Purple flowers April, May. Note: Some violet species are endangered or threatened in parts of the Midwest. There are many species of wild perennial native violets, including white and bicolored, that are commercially available. Nature Note: Wild perennial native violets are the sole host plants for many butterflies including the Aphrodite fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite), regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia), silver-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene), and meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona), which is “attracted to gardens that are near wet meadows.”30 Native violets are the sole host plants for many species of greater fritillaries, including the great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele). This butterfly’s caterpillars feed by night and hide by day. By the time the female lays her eggs on or near the larval host plants in the summer, they have often died back. This large butterfly “frequently stops to nectar, especially at milkweeds, where several adults can be found at one time on a single flowerhead.”31Violets are among the preferred host plants for many fritillary butterfly species,, including the variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia). Violet nectar attracts many species of adult butterflies. The cobweb skipper (Hesperia metea) prefers birdsfoot violet nectar. Violets are pollinated by an oligolege bee, Andrena violae, a specialist in violets and wood sorrel. Ants carry violet seeds to new locations, fulfilling the vital role of seed dispersal. Solitary bees (among other insects) pollinate violets. When birdsfoot violet fruits become ripe, they are explosively ejected up to 15 feet.32 Migrating birds feed their young with enormous quantities of the tiny insects violets attract. Hummingbirds (p. 10) visit violets for both nectar and small insects. Nonnative Note: Do not confuse native violets with the common European/English violet (V. odorata).
Aphrodite fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite) on butterfly milkweed
Regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia)
Silver-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene)
Meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona) on eastern daisy